So you’ve got customers signed up for your newsletter or registered for your service. That’s great! But now you’ve got to make sure your welcome email doesn’t kill their interest. In any email inbox, the trash button and its unforgiving neighbor, “Mark as Spam,” are just a short mouse swipe and click away. In an article on Small Business Computing, Janine Popick lists eight steps to writing a welcome email that will keep your company’s messages out of spam folders. 1. Who’s this email from? Make sure your customers know. If your customers signed up for a newsletter from “Delightful Cured Meats,” your welcome email and subsequent messages should come from “Delightful Cured Meats,” not from “Sausage PR” or “Patrick Prosciutto,” with whom they’ve had no prior dealings. (MORE: Take Your Business to the Next Level) 2. Remind your customers why they’re getting this email. Did your subscribers sign up on your website or Facebook page? Did they give you their email addresses at an event or in your store? Plenty of people sign up for stuff and then promptly forget about it. Use your welcome email to remind them why they’re receiving yours. 3. Show your human side. Want to capture your customers’ interest and keep them reading your newsletters? Show some humanity. Be funny, be memorable, be inspiring or be personal. Give your customers something to remember, rather than just another generic sales pitch. 4. Maintain your branding. Does your welcome email look like it comes from your company? Visual consistency across all the different media you use will result in a stronger brand impression, so work with your web or graphic designer to make sure your welcome email matches your company’s look. 5. Offer additional resources. Since your subscribers signed up for your newsletters, it’s reasonable to assume that they’re interested in your company. In your welcome email, give them ways to get to know what you do. Link to your company’s FAQ or blog. Help subscribers find more reasons to like what you do. (MORE: When